Graphene nanoribbons are internalized by human primary immune cell subpopulations maintaining a safety profile: A high-dimensional pilot study by single-cell mass cytometry

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Claudia Fuoco - , University of Rome Tor Vergata (Author)
  • Xiangfeng Luan - , Shanghai Jiao Tong University, University of Strasbourg (Author)
  • Laura Fusco - , University of Padua (Author)
  • Federica Riccio - , University of Rome Tor Vergata (Author)
  • Giulio Giuliani - , University of Rome Tor Vergata (Author)
  • Hazel Lin - , University of Strasbourg (Author)
  • Marco Orecchioni - , La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology (Author)
  • Cristina Martín - , University of Strasbourg (Author)
  • Gianni Cesareni - , University of Rome Tor Vergata (Author)
  • Xinliang Feng - , Chair of Molecular Functional Materials (Faculty of Chemistry and Food Chemistry), Chair of Molecular Functional Materials (cfaed) (Author)
  • Yiyong Mai - , Shanghai Jiao Tong University (Author)
  • Alberto Bianco - , University of Strasbourg (Author)
  • Lucia Gemma Delogu - , University of Padua (Author)

Abstract

Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) are emerging graphene materials showing clear promising applications in the biomedical field. The evaluation of GNR biocompatibility at the immune level is a critical aspect of their clinical translation. Here, we report the ex vivo immune profiling and tracking of GNRs at the single-cell level on eight human blood immune cell subpopulations. We selected ultra-small (GNRs-I-US) and small GNRs (GNRs-I-S), with an average length of 7.5 and 60 nm, respectively. GNRs were functionalized with 115In to trace their cell interactions by single-cell mass cytometry. Both materials are highly biocompatible and internalized by immune cells without inducing significant functional changes. GNRs-I-US interacted to a greater extent with myeloid dendritic cells (mDCs) and classical monocytes, while GNRs-I-S mainly interacted with mDCs. These results demonstrate that structurally precise GNRs are efficiently internalized by immune cells. In addition, our chemical and methodological single-cell approach can be applied to other cell types using various carbon-based nanomaterials, bringing new insights into their safety and future biomedical applications.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number101593
JournalApplied materials today
Volume29
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2022
Peer-reviewedYes

Keywords

Research priority areas of TU Dresden

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • Biocompatibility, CyTOF, Immune system, Nanomedicine, Two-dimensional materials